Chelsea were crowned the Premier League champions and Antonio Conte has done wonders in his maiden stint with the Blues. The Italian manager didn’t feel the need to try anything extraordinary and rather he stayed within his limits and tried the things which he has a stronghold on.
Conte had a not-so-good start to this season as they lost two consecutive matches at the hands of Liverpool and Arsenal. But a tweak in formation fuelled their intentions as they went on to dominate the proceedings. The deployment of a 3-4-3 formation seemed to be the vital cog as Conte had perfected the system when he was at the helm of Juventus.
But there was confusion and doubt as this formation had not been used heavily in the Premier League before and added to that, the players did not have proper experience about how to gel in this system. Cesar Azpilicueta and Victor Moses who played in the central defence and right wing back position had to prepare their mindset before stepping in this new role. But Conte deserved the accolades fully as the Italian successfully implemented the system otherwise it could have been a disaster.
Cesar Azpilicueta
We saw the rebirth of a new Azpilicueta in this season under the guidance of Conte. We have seen Azpilicueta being deployed in the right back and left back position but to do justice in a central defender’s role is way more difficult but the Spaniard made it look easy.
He has been one of the most consistent players among the Chelsea defenders and his performance in the three-man backline made things easy for the other two defenders, David Luiz and Gary Cahill.
Victor Moses
Moses has been with the club for a number of seasons but hadn’t been able to do the job. He was on loan at a number of clubs but never had the opportunity to shine in front of the Stamford Bridge crowd. But the arrival of the Italian manager changed things rapidly. Deploying wingbacks is a modern age thing and Moses made the position even more popular.
His defensive contribution alongside his offensive approach to the game had given the team a whole new dimension.
Marcos Alonso
When Marcos Alonso had arrived at the Stamford Bridge, little did he know that he was going to be a part of one of the most clinical teams in the history of Premier League football. He brought calmness and assurance at left wingback and his absence against Manchester United pointed out his importance to the team’s cause.
